Sailboats fair and Fine#16: read oldest posts first

We had stopped at the dock and took on fuel to the tune of three gallons. A couple bags of ice and we were all set for a few days. While there I put the mast, centerboard and rudder to the Dyer Dingy. A wonderful little sailing dingy though not strong enough to be left tied to a dingy dock with twenty other boats banging into it. We had learned a long time ago to pull her ashore. She if not beat up by other boats was likely as not to windup under a dock. Being so lightly built an incoming tide and a few boat wakes would wreck her surely. The other thing we did was to leave her on a long painter and that way all the other dingies would be pulled in front of her on short lines. Those boats kept ours from getting under the dock and no one ran into her as she was out of the way. All the years we owned her about fifteen in all nobody stole the rigging. Pretty amazing I think, considering all the places we took her.
The tide was now to our liking as it was about slack and would soon becoming in.
Parrot creek where we were going is shallow so we didn't want to get their on a complete high or low tide. Either one could be a problem and if we had an unusual high one which was likely after all the easterly wind we cold wind up setting on top a bar for a month waiting for another high tide. If we should get there at high tide we'd go in with our depth finder down. About four foot of center board sticking out Woftrap's bottom.
Our batteries were getting low, evidence a sluggishness in starting the engine. ( would have to be more careful with that). With that in mind we headed out motoring. Here is an unhappy thought. The screw we wound up with on Woftrap was not exactly right. The engine was only coming up to twenty eight hundred RPM's she was designed to run at thirty six hundred tops. At that lower speed we weren't getting full horse power out of her but worse than that she was blowing some black smoke. We'd come to regret that.
The wind had backed around to a light breeze from the South West. We hoisted the foresail sheeted her in and was soon motor sailing at six knots.
In about an hour we were off Parrot's creek and ready to head in. Wanting to be pretty coming in I hoisted sail and slowed the engine, leaving it run slow.
Every where we went with her we caused a stir and for me that's no small thing. The folks in this little shallow creek were not used to having sailboats of any size come in. They were very appreciative and came down to the boat landing to look at Wolftrap. Oyster shucker's at the oyster house must have been on break they stood on the dock point at us and talking. We were anchored in about four feet of water. We let the engine run another hour. The propeller always spun slowly while in in neutral so Wolftrap needed to be anchored between two anchors if the engine was to be run for charging batteries. She would run to the ends of the to anchor rodes and set there.
“Oh Thank you so much for coming into my creek and I hoped you will keep her here from now on” a lady who lived just across the creek said. Georgene, Replied well thank you,” but we will be leaving in a few days. Oh I'm so sorry but I'll tell you what, I'll will have a dinner party on the patio and you will be my backdrop. She wrote down everything Georgene told her about Wolftrap so that she could tell her guests.

Our Son, daughter in law and grandchildren lived a couple miles down the road so we set off walking. The lady didn't offer us a ride and beeped the horn and waved as she passed us on the road
We had a couple nice days with the kids and took a little time one day to explore the creek in the dink. We followed a small meandering gut that went through marshlands and small hills on all sides. Cranes, red wing black birds, geese, and ducks seemed to ignore us as we made our way. A little way off there was the crashing through the woods of a hound who let us know where he was by baying as he went. Figuring we had interrupted the daily lives of enough wild life we headed back to the boat. Each of us took an oar and practiced the art of tandem stroking of the water. While setting backwards. Georgene had one arm in a sling so only had one hand to pull an oar. I rowed with one hand to. With a light breeze behind us it didn't take too long to get to the boat.
We bought oysters at the shucking house and hung around watching the women shucking oysters a little while. They carried on a steady banter about one thing or another. A fair amount of it being about this fellow or that with a lot of somewhat dirty sounding giggling and laughing. Sure made a fella glad he'd never been out with any of them because there is no telling what they might say, for the amusement of all.
Our daughter Elaine, being a tidewater gal fried us all oysters for dinner. they were golden brow, moist and just right. I'll be John Brown if they weren't good.
We would be leaving tomorrow so the kids would see us off in the morning. We spent the night with the kids and let Wolftrap fend for herself. It felt pretty good to sleep in a real bed.